Advice and inspiration can come from anywhere. In this case, I was watching season two of Daredevil on Netflix, a show throughly enjoyed and reccommend. During one of the later episodes, Karen Page was having a conversation with the editor of the Daily Bulletin. His advice to her was to “write the story only she could write.” I’m paraphrasing but for some reason, this little piece of wisdom struck a chord with me. Anyone can follow the Lester Dent’s formula or the Hero’s Journey outline. What makes a story special is the writer telling the story and how much life he or she breathes into it.

I thought back to some of the stories I’ve written. The best ones were the stories I couldn’t imagine anyone else telling. With that in mind, I spent the last few days looking at some of the stories I had been working on recently. I realized why I was so dissatisfied with them. They were missing that little something only I could give them. Instead of writing an entertaining story, it felt like I was trying to be clever or write something with the hopes that it will sell. Neither one of those things are my style.

That realization was enough to jumpstart my writing. With the score to the Force Awakens playing in the background, I wrote a good 13,000 words last night. It was a good start. The words flowed freely. Now, I’m getting ready for bed. Tomorrow, I have a busy day planned. I want to see what kind of trouble my latest protagonist can get himself into.